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On the eve of his first-ever Champions League game, FC Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino has urged his side to improve their play.

After failing to win the Champions League title for the past two seasons, plenty of Barca fans have earmarked this year as being key to the Catalan giants’ fight back to take Europe by storm.

But it won’t be easy. Martino knows that.

“I am very excited about the chance to coach in the Champions League,” Martino admitted. “I am also a little nervous to be involved in such a prestigious competition. Barcelona have had problems dealing with set pieces and we need to find a solution to that. We want to improve every day, be more solid.”

Yet despite a lack of defensive solidity in the last few Champions League campaigns, Barca have kept their sensational domestic form going this term, as they go into Wednesday’s UCL curtain raiser with Ajax on the back of four-straight La Liga wins. Last season Barca were humbled 7-0 on aggregate by eventual winners Bayern across two semifinal encounters, and in 2011-12 they were beaten by eventual champions Chelsea. So they’ve been close to clinching Europe’s most coveted title.

However, Barcelona’s new Argentine boss knows he needs to lift at least one title in his first season in charge. Why not the biggest in world soccer?

“When I took the job, I knew that if we didn’t win a title this season it would be a failure,” Martino said. “I believe we can repeat the glorious moments of recent seasons but matching the standards we have set will be tough. Nobody can deny that Bayern are one of the best teams in the world, so it’s understandable to lose a game like that.”

But as Martino said, failure in the Champions League would be deemed a huge step back, once again, for Barcelona. Can they get their Group H campaign off to a flyer at a packed Camp Nou against Ajax on Wednesday night?

Find out how Barcelona get on, and all the other teams in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday, right here on ProSoccerTalk. We will have video highlights, reaction and analysis from all eight games in the UCL.

Cecilio Dominguez and Mateus Uribe each bagged a brace, and Renato Ibarra also scored as the tournament’s top team sauntered into and out of Costa Rica on Wednesday. Club America has been to seven CCL finals, and one every single one.

West Ham United will pay a visit to Dag & Red as part of the latter’s #SaveTheDaggers campaign, and the March 21 date will cost fans between $7 and $21 to see a top flight side at 6,000-seat Victoria Road.

“So please come on down to the Chigwell Construction Stadium for an additional night of football. Bring a friend, or two, or more and we can use the gate takings to help get us back on track,” reads a press release.

Dag & Red was founded in 1992 and climbed as high as League One in 2011, and plays just 2.5 miles from West Ham United’s training ground. Newcastle’s Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle are among Dag & Red alums in the Premier League.

It’s a terrific gesture from West Ham, and is even more impressive in the United States where the growing club game is increasingly cutthroat (especially between non-synced leagues).

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AS Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco absolutely roasted his charges after i Lupi tossed aside a Cenzig Under-inspired lead to fall 2-1 at Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie on Wednesday.

Di Francesco had praise for Edin Dzeko, who assisted Under’s goal, as well as goalkeeper Alisson, but was mostly enraged by his side.

4) “The difference was that in the first half we tried to hurt them while in the second we were looking to hold on – to what? I don’t know.”

— “To what? I don’t know” is hilarious. Di Francesco’s side has posted some serious wins this season, including killing off Chelsea 3-0 at home and coming back from 2-0 to draw the Blues at Stamford Bridge. He doesn’t preach sitting back.

3) “There were far too many schoolboy errors – even by players with a wealth of international experience.”

— Schoolboy errors!

2) “I saw two completely different teams out there today. There were lots of players I should have taken off after we conceded the first goal.”

— Again, one mistake by a number of players on Facundo Ferreyra is enough for Di Francesco. He’s not just happy to be here.

1) “I can’t imagine we’d get arrogant just because we’re winning an important game. It’s not as if Roma are used to reaching the final every year.”

— When you’re willing to essentially rip an entire club’s history — Roma’s been to just two UCL quarterfinals since losing the final to Liverpool in 1984 — you’re putting your footprints in new cement.

Salzburg’s two away goals in a draw feels like a one-goal lead, and the one-goal matches are especially interesting. In the case of Atalanta, 1-0 to the Serie A side could undo Michy Batshuayi‘s first leg heroics for BVB.